FINAL WEEK #14

This week we are to write as if giving a final lecture to future students of this course.
Welcome to your Introduction to Entrepreneurship.  This will be the beginning of your discovery into whether or not entrepreneurship is right for you.  There are many who say that anyone can own their own business, and that may be so, but everyone cannot be successful and happy owning their own businesses.  It is okay to not know right now.  I was not sure if I wanted to be a business owner.  I came into this course having started my own business but stopping it to further school.  I was not sure if I wanted to start it up again later or not.  After this course, I am fairly certain I will not be doing that again.  It takes a lot more to own and run a business than I had imagined.  Through this class I was able to discover more about myself.  More about what I want from my education and a career.  What I want in life and what I do not want in life.  What I will always choose to do and what I will choose to never do.  This course also helped me realize that as a disciple of Christ, through whatever I choose to do in my life, I am to build His kingdom.  Whether I am at home with my children, or out in the business world, I need to be His disciple in all that I do.  I ask you to look at what your interests are.  Is there something that you truly enjoy that you could help the world be better?  Could you be happy being in charge of all aspects of a business?  This semester you will learn about what you need before you become an entrepreneur.  Do you have a plan in place?  Have you thought of your possibilities?  There are so many turns that a business can take that you need to be prepared for.  This will help you prepare yourself for these situations.  You will interview an entrepreneur that you know.  This interview can be extremely helpful if you allow it.  Your questions that you ask and the conversation that you have, can help guide you towards the right path for your future.  Let this entrepreneur be a mentor to you and help you in your path towards or away from entrepreneurship, depending on what your feelings are at that time in the course. Through this semester’s studies of successful entrepreneurs, I was able to learn that entrepreneurship is not the right fit for me.  I am grateful that this course helped me learn that now, rather than realizing it later in my future.  Make sure you work on your portfolio early on and go by the weekly guide.  It is much easier than procrastinating and trying to do everything in a short amount of time at the end of the semester.  Good luck in this course and good luck in your future. 

Week #13

As we come nearer to the end of the semester, I feel the need to remind myself of many things I have learned.  This week is about gratitude and we read a talk from Pres. Monson.  He discusses six people or things to encourage our gratitude.  One, be grateful for our mothers.  Two, be grateful for our fathers.  Three, be grateful for our teachers.  Four, be grateful for our friends.  Five, be grateful for our country.  Six, be grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ.  In addition to being grateful for these things, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend BYU-I and expand upon my knowledge in this life.  I know that this school and programs have been brought about by revelation and are great blessings unto many.  I know that they are blessings to my family as I am able to continue my university experience when I thought I would not be able to finish. 
I am grateful for our living prophets who are in tune with the Spirit and able to receive revelations for the Church. I am grateful for daily revelation from our Heavenly Father.  I am eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father for all that He has given me as I live this test on earth.  

Week #12

This week we finished reading the book "A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey".  As I read this book, I came to realize that it is a fantastic book to close out this course.  It summarizes many of the things that we have learned and done throughout the semester.  It discusses how to start the journey by stopping the excuses and keeping a journal.  We did this by starting this blog to track our progress each week.  This blog has helped me to realize the things that I have learned and grown from.  Also, I now am able to look back at this later on in my journey through business and see what concepts I can continue to learn and grow from.   The book continues through discovering who you want to be (not what you want to be), setting guardrails (the stars and stepping stones we created earlier this semester), choosing friends and companions wisely along this path (we created our personal board of directors to remind us of these important things), encounter and growing from obstacles & learning to overcome your fears (we did deconstructing our fears), making sure that you make time for rest and relaxation and lastly, encountering the challenge that will change your life.  All of these items together help guide us on our path through being an entrepreneur, but also are steps that will help guide us throughout our entire lives.


Now for questions regarding a reading "What's a Business For?" by Charles Handy

• Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy?

The future of our economy is based on the choices of today.  We are saving now for our futures tomorrow.  For those in charge of corporations it is important for them to show integrity and virtue so that their employees and the public shareholders know they can depend upon them to make choices in the best interest of everyone, not just themselves.  If honesty is betrayed, it is hard to earn back.  Many people do not trust businesses with many fall outs that have happened and continue to be shown in the news.  Those in charge often are feeding their own interests before the interest of their shareholders or employees.  They are taking care of their retirement accounts and stock options now so they don't have to trust in those who take over for them when they retire.  With this lack of trust, comes the decline of money circulating throughout.  Without trust, why would we want to let go of our money?  

• According to Charles Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses?

The "real justification" is that businesses need to make a profit so that they can do more or be better. 

• What are two solutions proposed by Handy that you agree with? Why?

I think that Handy's suggestion that businesses need to be involved with charitable giving is an excellent idea.  I know that many large corporations are involved with charities.  Hander says, "To survive, even to prosper, is not enough.  We hanker to leave a footprint in the sands of time".  Associating with giving back is something that builds up trust from the community. 

I also like his thoughts on compensating those who work harder through their skills and talents to for such.  The balance of working harder for your money would be more equal than currently when employees get compensated regardless of them doing just enough or whether they go above and beyond.  Spreading this I think would increase productivity in companies.